The Alyona Show: Need Help? Call the Americans

Published time: 9 Mar, 2010 18:00 Edited time: 11 Mar, 2010 01:15

US President Barack Obama has met with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou at the White House to discuss support for the Greek nation as it attempts to make its way out of massive debt. Is it America’s job to save Greece, or should the US be focusing on other financial issues, like California’s debt problem? Reason Magazine economist Anthony Randazzo joins Alyona to break it all down.

Infamous for their anti-gay protests, the Westboro Baptist Church is being taken to the Supreme Court. Albert Snyder, the father of a Marine killed in action wants the country’s highest court to uphold damages he says were inflicted upon him by Westboro’s decision to protest outside his son's funeral. The group argues that Snyder’s son, and other troops killed in action, died as a result of the presence of gay soldiers in the US military. Iraq war veteran and Westboro Baptist Church member Shirley Phelps-Roper debates the merits of the decision to protest outside a Marine's funeral.

Then, in a new wave of health care protests, Americans from across the country descended on Washington, D.C. to make a citizen's arrests of health care executives holding their annual meeting at the Ritz Carlton. One of the country’s most contested domestic issues just got a lot more exciting. RT Correspondent Kristine Frazao is with Alyona in studio after returning from the scene.

The University of Pennsylvania will begin offering an option to identify yourself as gay, lesbian or transgender on applications for admission. Some believe this will encourage LGBT applicants to choose UPenn over other schools, because those students will feel more part of a community once they’re accepted. Others argue this won’t solve the problem of stigmatizing LGBT students on college campuses. Media consultant Joel Silberman is in studio with Alyona to discuss the move.

Finally, developer Larry Silverstein wants to rebuild on the site where the towers of the World Trade Center once stood. After several botched plans and years passed, New York labor union members are fed up with the process. They want the jobs and have called for a resolution to this issue, which has gripped lower Manhattan since 2001. RT Correspondent Marina Portnaya joins Alyona from New York to tell us more.